[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 246 (Tuesday, December 26, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 88942-88943]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-28361]


=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Fish and Wildlife Service

[FWS-HQ-FAC-2023-N065; FXFR13360900000-FF09F14000-234]


Draft Revised National European Green Crab Management and Control 
Plan

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of availability; request for comments.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announces the availability 
of the draft revised National European Green Crab Management and 
Control Plan (2023 EGC plan). The Aquatic Nuisance Species Task Force 
recently approved the 2023 EGC plan to be posted in the Federal 
Register for public comment. We invite comment from the public and 
local, State, Tribal, Federal agencies, and other relevant parties.

DATES: Written comments should be received on or before February 9, 
2024.

ADDRESSES: Obtaining Documents: An electronic copy of the draft revised 
2023 EGC plan is available at https://www.fws.gov/media/management-plan-european-green-crab.
    Submitting Written Comments: Please send written comments using one 
of the following methods:
     Email (preferred method): [email protected]. Please 
include your name and return mailing address in your email message.
     U.S. Mail: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Headquarters 
Office, Aquatic Nuisance Species Task Force; 5275 Leesburg Pike; Falls 
Church, VA 22041-3803 (Attn: Susan Pasko, Executive Secretary).

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Susan Pasko, Executive Secretary, 
Aquatic Nuisance Species Task Force, by email at [email protected] or 
via phone at (703) 358-2466. Individuals in the United States who are 
deaf, deafblind, hard of hearing, or have a speech disability may dial 
711 (TTY, TDD, or TeleBraille) to access telecommunications relay 
services. Individuals outside the United States should use the relay 
services offered within their country to make international calls to 
the point-of-contact in the United States.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background

    The ANSTF is an intergovernmental organization dedicated to 
preventing and controlling aquatic nuisance species (ANS) and 
coordinating governmental efforts of the United States with the private 
sector and other North American interests. The ANSTF was established by 
Congress with the passage of the Nonindigenous Aquatic Nuisance 
Prevention and Control Act of 1990 (NANPCA; Pub. L. 101-646, 104 Stat. 
4761, 16 U.S.C. 4701-4741), and reauthorized with the passage of the 
National Invasive Species Act of 1996 (NISA; Pub. L. 104-332, 110 Stat. 
4073). Section 1201(d) of NANPCA designates the Undersecretary of 
Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere and the Director of the U.S. Fish 
and Wildlife Service as the ANSTF co-chairpersons. The ANSTF is 
regulated by the Federal Advisory Committee Act of 1972 (5 U.S.C. Ch. 
10), which provides the ANSTF with its core structure and ensures an 
open and public forum for its activities. Membership of the ANSTF 
consists of 13 Federal agency representatives and 13 representatives 
from ex-officio member organizations who work in conjunction with six 
regional panels and issue-specific subcommittees to meet the challenges 
of developing and implementing a coordinated and complementary Federal 
program for ANS activities.
    The NANPCA (as amended by NISA, 1996) establishes that the ANSTF is 
responsible for coordination of national efforts to prevent the 
introduction and spread of ANS. These responsibilities include the 
development of species management and control plans for specific high-
risk invasive species. These plans focus on tasks that are essential to 
prevent spread into additional habitats and minimize the impact to 
areas where the species have already invaded. The plans are developed 
through a cooperative process and undergo review by the ANSTF members 
and regional panels. Successful implementation of these plans requires 
the participation of States, regional and Tribal entities, Federal 
agencies, and other relevant parties.

History of the National European Green Crab Management and Control Plan

    European green crab (EGC; Carcinus maenas) is one of the most 
pervasive invasive predators in coastal marine systems, having 
established populations on five continents. The ecological and economic 
damage caused by EGC is well documented on both coasts of North 
America. On the U.S. Atlantic coast, EGC has been an established 
invader for at least 200 years, although its geographic range continues 
to expand into Atlantic Canada. On the Pacific coast, EGC arrived in 
the late 1980s and, consequently, is still at an earlier stage of range 
expansion and population growth. EGC has been implicated in historic 
declines and current losses of commercial bivalves in the eastern 
United States and maritime Canada and

[[Page 88943]]

is also thought to have impacts to habitats of native species, 
including eelgrass beds, along both coasts of North America. 
Recognizing the taxon's potential for negative cultural, ecological, 
and economic impacts and its expanding geographic range, the ANSTF 
first designated EGC as an ANS in 1998. Following this designation, a 
EGC control committee was appointed by the ANSTF and subsequently 
worked, through several years of planning and research, to develop the 
first National Management Plan for European Green Crab (2002 EGC plan), 
which was approved by the ANSTF in 2002. For 20 years, the plan guided 
natural resource managers on EGC management and served as a reference 
for regional plans. In June 2021, the ANSTF Control Subcommittee 
recommended that the 2002 EGC plan be updated to reflect the current 
knowledge, range, and control options of the species. In 2022, a 
working group was established to revise and update the 2002 EGC plan. 
Input on development of the updated plan was sought through multiple 
forums, including email submissions, in-person meetings (local, 
regional, and national), regional listening sessions, and informal 
public comment periods. Comments received were addressed and, where 
appropriate, incorporated into the new draft revised 2023 EGC plan.
    The draft 2023 EGC plan was submitted to the ANSTF on July 19, 
2023, and was approved to be posted in the Federal Register for public 
comment. Distribution of the 2023 EGC plan for public comment, and the 
consideration of comments received, are the final steps before the 
ANSTF can consider the plan for final approval (NANPCA; Pub. L. 101-
646, 104 Stat. 4761, 16 U.S.C. 4722).

Proposed Updates to the 2002 Management Plan for the European Green 
Crab

    The 2023 EGC plan proposes to update the 2002 plan by providing a 
more focused set of approaches for future management, based on 
significant changes in the distribution of EGC, new technologies 
available for identifying sources and mechanisms of spread, better 
information regarding the tradeoffs for different management efforts, 
and new methods for data management and sharing. The 2023 EGC plan also 
describes current strategies for coordinating the activities of 
scientists, resource agencies, Tribal and First Nation organizations, 
and other entities. The 2002 EGC plan provided significant information 
about the geographic distribution, mechanisms for spread, biology, 
ecology, and impacts. The 2023 EGC plan adds new distribution 
information and summarizes recent research on population genetics, 
physiology, and range limits. It also provides detailed trapping 
protocols, recommendations for coordinating ongoing management efforts, 
and a summary of the legal framework and relevant statutes for EGC 
across the United States. The 2023 EGC plan includes 11 goals, 23 
objectives, and 12 specific strategies, as well as prioritized actions 
and evaluation criteria.
    The purpose of the 2023 EGC plan is to provide guidance for efforts 
to prevent future introductions, to rapidly detect and respond to new 
invasions of EGC before they become established and create ecological 
and economic damage, and to manage current populations that pose an 
undue threat to resources of importance for ecosystems and local 
cultures. This plan also serves as a baseline for the development and 
implementation of, as well as the integration with, local and regional 
plans, such as the Salish Sea Transboundary Action Plan for Invasive 
European Green Crab and the Early Detection and Rapid Response Plan for 
Invasive European Green Crab (Carcinus maenas) in Alaska 2023-2028 
(previously known as the Alaska Action Plan for Invasive European Green 
Crab).

Public Availability of Comments

    Before including your address, phone number, email address, or 
other personal identifying information in your comment, you should be 
aware that your entire comment, including your personal identifying 
information, may be made publicly available at any time. While you can 
ask us in your comment to withhold your personal identifying 
information from public view, we cannot guarantee that we will be able 
to do so.

Authority

    This document is published under the authority of the Nonindigenous 
Aquatic Nuisance Prevention and Control Act of 1990 (NANPCA; Pub. L. 
101-646, 104 Stat. 4761, 16 U.S.C. 4701-4741), as reauthorized with the 
passage of the National Invasive Species Act of 1996 (NISA; Pub. L. 
104-332, 110 Stat. 4073).

David A. Miko,
Co-chair, Aquatic Nuisance Species Task Force.
[FR Doc. 2023-28361 Filed 12-22-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4333-15-P